


Welcome Home, Persephone

by inthxtbleakdec



Category: Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Angry Niki|Nihachu, BAMF Niki | Nihachu, Gen, Heroes to Villains, Scared TommyInnit (Video Blogging RPF), Toby Smith | Tubbo & TommyInnit Friendship, Toby Smith | Tubbo Angst, give niki a glock, niki switches sides like twice, villain!niki
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-07
Updated: 2021-01-27
Packaged: 2021-03-18 08:35:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,601
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28615203
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/inthxtbleakdec/pseuds/inthxtbleakdec
Summary: "She'd make them listen, come hell or high water. She had to. After he came back like absolutely nothing had happened, after she was just pushed aside, despite the fact that they couldn't trust him, wasn't it obvious?"Inspired by art by @evie_sketches on Twitter, I wanted to write my own Niki villain arc. Constructive criticism is greatly appreciated, and I hope y'all enjoy it!
Kudos: 57





	1. The Spark

The rain streamed down as Niki searched high and low for Techno and Dream's base, clutching her cloak close to her. She was chilled to the bone and shaking, but determined to find them. At least she knew she'd be valued there. They hadn't hurt her like everyone in L'Manburg had, over and over again, always spoken over, never taken seriously. But they would. She'd make them listen, come hell or high water. She had to. After he came back like absolutely nothing had happened, after she was just pushed aside, despite the fact that they couldn't trust him, wasn't it  _ obvious? _

These thoughts fuelled her through the cold and the tiredness, pushing her forwards. Niki wouldn't, no,  _ couldn't _ stop until she found them. She refused to quit now. They would understand, wouldn't they? Techno felt her pain. She'd heard him after Tommy betrayed yet another person. She didn't need anyone. But they could help her. Techno already had a plan, and Dream had ambition and charisma. But she had their trust. That much, she knew. It was always, "don't hurt Niki." But also never, "Hey, I wonder if Niki knows about this? Maybe she has some ideas? Maybe she could help?" 

No, they all treated her as expendable. As if she'd do anything for them. Like a loyal dog. Maybe it was once true, but it would never happen again, that, she vowed. She'd been treated like a doormat by everyone. 

She saw a hint of light from what seemed like a door and threw herself towards it. The weariness was gaining on her, as well as all the events of the day.

Techno opened his door to a half-drowned, practically half-dead Niki standing there, with a burning fire in her eyes. "I want them to pay!" She half-snarled it, and half-sobbed. Dream let out a shocked laugh, having never seen anything like this before, especially not from  _ Niki _ of all people, the one who was the readiest to lay down her  _ life _ for L'Manberg.

Techno didn't even bat an eyelid. It would've surprised Niki if she wasn't so tired and  _ maybe  _ hypothermic after the day's events. But Techno carried on, some grand speech, as is his way. 

"I've been expecting this for a while. Maybe not like this, but either way, you're here now." With a dramatic whirl of his cape, extending a hand towards her, he all but yelled, "Welcome home, Persephone!"

Philza, who was desperate for some semblance of plausible deniability, came through to check what on earth was going on, only to stop dead in his tracks at the sight of an exhausted and drenched Niki standing in his kitchen. "Techno, Techno, you didn't think to give the poor girl a break before arranging world domination?" He shook his head.

"Niki, there's a spare room if you go right it's the last door to the left. We can all talk tomorrow. Just get some rest for now."

"We need to make them regret it all," Niki spoke up, unafraid to voice her anger.

"Keep a rational head here, okay?" Dream attempted to calm the situation, feeling Niki's anger from across the table.

"Yeah, let's not go too far with this. It isn't an assassination." Techno sighed. They had warned everyone so that they wouldn't get hurt. If they were still there? That wasn't their issue. The warning was clear.

"But what if-?" She started again.

"We all need to take a step back here, okay?" Phil had been lurking in the doorway, half paying attention to them, but mostly listening to Ghostbur talking about some animal somewhere he'd found.

"We don't have  _ time _ , Phil. Believe me. As much as I'd love to stick around and talk, time waits for no man, and we're running out of time." Techno was stressing, it was clear, despite his calm expression. 

Dream's armchair creaked as he stood and sighed. "Fighting is going to help nobody. We had a plan, let's keep using that."

"Does somebody wanna maybe fill me in on it?" Niki asks.

"Sure," Techno shrugs. "We're gonna take every explosive I own, every wither head I have, and we're gonna blow L'Manberg sky high." 

Techno's grin was back in full force. She was pretty sure that Dream was smirking behind his mask too. Even she had a small smile on her face.

"So, how can I help?"

"I'm glad you asked! You can go to L'Manberg. No one would question you being there, correct?" Techno asks rhetorically. 

"The man has a point. As you said, everyone trusts you. You could probably stab someone in front of everyone. They would probably forgive you for it." Philza once again chimes in.

"I wouldn't go that far, but I guess so..." Niki shrugs. "I could get in and out a lot easier than you two."

"No need to rub it in." Dream jokes.

"Guys. Back to business. Niki, when you've eaten something, you need to take these to L'Manberg, but you're going to have to dig, so here." Techno passes her a diamond shovel, a compass and the various explosives required.

Once, if Techno's honest, he probably would've suggested she got her stuff and fled, but now, he could feel the fight and strength coming from her. She was a stronger person now. She could handle this. 

He knew that.

She thought of Fundy, and Tubbo, and Ranboo, as she followed the compass Techno had given her. She ousted those thoughts with ease, instead replaced with memories of everyone choosing that  _ traitor.  _ He'd  _ exploded  _ the community house. Niki shook her head. They were going to lose because she knew how they worked, the mechanics of how they lived. Niki knew their plan well. After this, she reckoned it was time to cause some hell, and mayhaps become a saboteur. She had an idea. After clearing it with Dream, Niki had a plan. A loose one, she'd admit that, but she had a plan. That was the main component of this. It wasn't like they were going in blind. As she dug down where Techno told her, the cold didn't seem as harsh. Besides, she'd be warm sooner or later, once they'd razed L'Manberg to ashes. Of course, she hoped there wouldn't be too much of a fight. She didn't want anyone to  _ die _ . She didn't mind if someone were to not yield to their warning. Stuff like that happens sometimes.


	2. Ignition

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "That way, she could say goodbye.
> 
> And then she started thinking"
> 
> i won a writing comp with chapter 1 apparently so here's part 2. hope y  
> all enjoy!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry it's been so long since I started this but here, I gib more. If you enjoy this and want updates my twitter is inthxtbleakdec if you wanna follow there! i tweet when I upload

As Niki snuck in via an unfixed hole from the last explosion and established a cover story, it was clear that they didn't know what was coming. The way they'd included Niki in their plans to protect L'Manberg. They didn't even question her on her absence, Tommy just telling her to "hurry up Niki! we're running out of time." 

She shrugged it off, following him over the bridges and wooden footpaths that led to the plaza. Tommy was panicking, and it felt strange, it almost unsettled her, but there was time to focus on that later. 

"You should go and get some rest. You won't be good in battle if you're tired." She turns on the soft and caring voice and notices an immediate change.

"But someone needs to keep an eye-" Tommy protests.

"Tommy, they are probably focusing on their own problems. I think it'll be okay for one night." She smiles softly. "Go on. Everyone else has slept. Someone could get hurt if you're tired on the battlefield." 

Tommy grumbled, but agreed, heading towards his old home. He'd chosen to live surprisingly close to others, which was surprising. Tommy was usually tactical in his decisions.  _ He shouldn't have to be. _

It was a good job she had trust from both parties because she would be here for a while. She couldn't let her guard down, but she was going to have to act as though nothing had changed. Luckily for her, no one was around at this moment in time.

She got to work quickly, setting the TNT down exactly where Techno had told her. He had planned this out well, Niki thought as she was placing the explosives down, ignoring the pang of guilt in her chest. She kept glancing over to the tree.  _ No _ . But it too would burn in time. She just had to be patient. That wasn't hard for her. Until then, those chests, she just needed to find the nearest lava flow. What she'd do then, she had no idea.

Checking the map was giving her a headache, but it was worth it. They could hate her for this as much as they liked. 

They needed to pay. This was the right way to teach them, right? 

She took a breath, thinking as she carried the armour chest towards a nearby lava flow, following the heat. Niki truthfully wasn't quite sure how she was managing as it wasn't exactly light. 

She made sure to keep a distance between her as she contemplated throwing it in. The heat was awful in there, and Niki could barely stand it, but she had the weapons and potions to discard. She just had to get on with it, she supposed. Did she?

She took a breath, staring at the place she'd once called home while the snow drifted down slowly. Niki could see it all from where she was standing. Her bakery, Jack's house, the white house and even Fundy's home. So many memories, and so much bloodshed caused for it. Niki's eyes caught on a gravestone as she vowed that  _ this would never happen, not as long as she was around _ . She promised that.

Of course, she had to run into Quackity while she was trying to get on with things.

"Hey, Niki! What're you up to out here? Also, where were you the other night?"

"I'd been checking to see what was growing because I couldn't sleep last night, I'm too stressed about today."

"Oh, okay. I'd checked in your bakery, and you weren't there. We'd been looking for you. You know we need the manpower." Quackity started to panic. "And womanpower, of course!" 

She laughed at his flustering. "Hey, don't worry. Let's get everything done."

She nodded goodbye to him as she walked away. Niki couldn't deny there was a gut feeling that something was wrong. She couldn't tell what, which didn't help matters at all. Was it something here? It couldn't be. They all seemed to trust her. So did Techno, and Phil. But something was up with Dream. He was going to do what he did best, wasn't he? Take over. She couldn't let him keep hurting everyone. Niki refused to let him walk over them again. She couldn't work with him on this. He was over.

The TNT was placed, and she was ready and waiting. Niki's stomach was tying itself into knots. Could she come back from this, or would she be seen as "the new Eret?" All Niki wanted was for everyone to learn. Did that really make her an awful person? She was just trying to protect everyone. She'd put trust in Techno because she understood that rejection. That  _ betrayal _ , on such a personal level. When everyone around you turned away except for when you were useful, the hurt that came with it too. All because of one fucking country.  _ But so did Tommy _ .

Niki stared at L'Mantree, and if anyone was standing nearby, they would've noticed the softness in her eyes that quickly slipped away as she planned. She may as well have planted it herself, it was always her safe space. She was the one who took care of it, who loved it. Neither Dream nor Techno understood it's significance to the other L'Manberg residents, so it made sense for Niki to be the one to destroy it, right? The idea of it being gone hurt, but she'd prefer she were the one to destroy it and got closure than one of Techno's bombs. That way, she could say goodbye.

And then she started thinking. Remembering, to be exact. Remembering reading to Tommy, Tubbo and Fundy under L'Mantree. Remembering how Tubbo had listened to every word, how Tommy climbed up the tree, just so that he could lean down and read over her shoulder, and how Fundy's tail had wagged so hard after the story was over, and how they all begged for another story. She remembered trying to teach the boys to make bread, and how Wilbur had come and intervened, and the boys just went feral on a sugar high. It had taken days to get rid of all the flour they'd got everywhere. She remembered walking with Eret, on her lunch breaks, talking about whatever came to mind. She remembered going on picnics with Puffy, and the adventures they'd had. The promise ring, and the look on Puffy's face. How Wilbur had always looked out for her. There was so much history here. 

And then she started thinking logically. Tubbo had never tried to hurt her. He literally gave her his diamonds so that she could create armour and be safe. Maybe he knew what he was doing? She just wanted them to learn that people came before country, before discs. She was trying to protect them, as much as she could. She was trying to warn Tubbo of that. Tommy, she was hurt by, but her anger was not directed at him. She realised this. There was both no one and everyone to blame. It was the easiest, however, to point the majority of the blame at Dream. He'd hurt everyone, no matter what came from this. And as Puffy had said, they're kids. Who deserved better, but she'd already started. How could she fix this now?

Tommy. She had to talk to him. She'd seen the look in his eyes when he'd seen Dream there. That look of undeniable fear. She wasn't quite Puffy, but she could try and empathise with him. She could still remember everything with Schlatt, the imprisonment, and how he'd been fully ready to execute her. His name, after all this time, made her tense. And so Niki made her way to Tommy's house. He was still awake, she had a feeling.

She knocked on the door. "Hey, Tommy, would you be willing to help me in the bakery for a while? I want to make sure that everyone has enough food, in case anyone gets hurt." And Tommy agreed to help. And Niki had learnt from Puffy that kids talk best when distracted, so while she kept him busy, he started talking, and then he started venting. About everything. About what Dream had done to him. But he was busy with the simple tasks Niki had given him, so he was completely oblivious when the dough kneading Niki had been turned to her squeezing and practically slamming the bread down and trying to keep her anger discrete.

Niki had to fix it somehow. Her conscience couldn't let her just blow up all of L'Manberg. Not while Dream and Techno were so passive about the idea of people dying. Dream. All of this was because of him. He had to be stopped, and he seemed to trust her right now, his mistake.

"Niki, are you alright?" Tubbo suddenly called to her, pulling her out of her thoughts.

"I'm okay Tubbo, I'm just thinking about today, and whatever comes next. One thing I promise is I've got your back. No one will hurt you."

Again, there was a fire in Niki's eyes, she was fully ready to wreak vengeance on Dream. She just had to talk to somebody. 

"...Puffy?"


End file.
